The Ohio State Historical Society is one step closer to taking control of ancient ceremonial and burial earthworks maintained by a country club where members play hillside golf.
The trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday to determine how much the historical society should pay for the site, which is among eight ancient areas in the Hopewell Earthworks system. It was named a World Heritage Site last year.
Built between 2,000 and 1,600 years ago by people of the Hopewell culture, these earthworks hosted ceremonies that attracted people from all over the continent, based on archaeological finds of raw materials from as far west as the Rocky Mountains.
Ohio History Connection, which owns the 2,000-year-old Octagon Earthworks in Newark, central Ohio, won state Supreme Court decision A year and a half ago, allowing her to take back the lease held by Moundbuilders Country Club so she could turn the site into a public park.
The historical society has estimated the value of the site at about $2 million, while the country club is seeking a much higher return.
Native Americans built the earthworks, including eight long earthen walls, that correspond to the movements of the moon and correspond to the points where the moon rises and sets during the 18.6-year lunar cycle.
The Ohio History Connection calls them “part cathedral, part cemetery, and part astronomical observatory.”
Several tribes, some with historical ties to Ohio, want to preserve the earthworks as examples of Native achievements.
In 1892, voters in surrounding Licking County passed a tax increase to preserve what remained of the earthworks. The area was developed as a golf course in 1911, and the state first leased the 134-acre property to Moundbuilders Country Club in the 1930s.
A district judge ruled in 2019 that the historical society could reclaim the lease via property right.
The club objected to the attempt to seize the property, saying Ohio History Connection did not make a good faith offer to purchase the property as required by state law. The country club says it has provided proper maintenance of the hill and allowed public access over the years.
The club was dealt a further legal blow when the court rejected the evidence it had hoped to provide regarding the value of the ground. The club appealed this decision to the state Supreme Court, which declined jurisdiction.